Leaking Bularoo.

[MADB]

What is the best way to find leaks in my Bularoo. I have checked the valves and the bladder connections and they all seem OK and I can`t find any damage to the kite.

 

Any tips would be great.

 

Cheers B.

[MadMan1520]

dunk it under water and look for bubbles, if you dont live by the beach, inflate each section slightly and use a bucket to look for bubbles

[mkratty]

main problem is deflate valves being expanded . dip them in hot water to softern them or open up the stopper a bit so it fits tight in the valve .

also you could put a small cable tie around the valve to pinch it in a bit tighter .

 

other than that it could be on the one pump valves in the leading edge .these are a pain to find leaks on ..

 

another tip is to make sure that your inflate valve is tight if its a 07 screw type . they can leak too ...

 

is it a major leak or does it just go down after a few hours session ??

[Gregga]

its the 1pump.

 

the bularoos 1pump systems rubs some area of the bladders and after a while will cause a slow leak.

[stevefamara]

First time i inflated my bularoo it went down very slowly difficult to notice any leaks but used a small paint brush with some washing up liquid and water solution on the main one pump valve and you can notice any small leaks by the bubbles foaming up it was the main valve so turned the rubber washer around and srewed the valve tighter no probs now.Worth a go.

Cheers Steve

[mkratty]

nice 1 steve didnt think of the washing up liquid method .. but will keep that in mind .

[kite geek]

Deflate the kite and open each zip and pull out the valves and push the male and female valves together on each of the struts.

 

That should do it.

[mick]

The problem is using an LEI on land, you can get tiny holes in the bladder that won't show bubbles on the leading edge or struts. You've got to isolate each strut from the leading edge ideally. If you pump any of the bladders hard they tend to seal against the casing so dont over-inflate. Move the kite about like it was flying. This also causes movement in the bladder and the leak to show quicker. Other than that, pull it out BUT as said before; check all one pump connections first. Liberal amounts of thick soapy liquid round the valves and pipes.

 

You won't neccessarily find any marks or holes in the LE or strut outer casings.

[MADB]

Chees all.

 

The kite will inflate to full pressure but will deflate about 3 psi within 30 minutes. I have expanded the deflate valves, I did the hot water ram a penile in the stopper and plunge in ice water so they are OK.

 

I think I will check the bladder connections again and the soapy water trick is definitely worth a go. It might wash some mud of the kite as well, winter flying in very muddy field with LEI’s is not a great mix if you like your kites to stay clean.

 

Cheers all.

 

B.